GOV.MIMIKO FAULTS RIVER'S TRIBUNAL VERDICT

The Chairman
of the Peoples
Democratic
Party (PDP)
Governor's
Forum and
Governor of
Ondo State, Dr.
Olusegun
Mimiko, on Monday, said the judgment of the
Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which
nullified the election of Nyesom Wike of Rivers
State was an embarrassment and called for a
great concern.
Mimiko, who spoke while addressing reporters in
Akure, the state capital, wondered why the three-
man tribunal was in a haste to deliver judgment
He queried that a case challenging its jurisdiction
was still pending at the Supreme Court which was
less than 48 hours that both parties in the
petition submitted written addresses.
The Rivers Tribunal had, on Saturday, sacked
Nyesom Wike from office and ordered
the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a re-run.
Mimiko observed that the judgment was
suspicious and asked why the tribunal refused to
wait for the decision of the Supreme Court over
its jurisdiction before passing a verdict on the
petition.
"Our mindset is that the tribunal judgment can go
either way, but the Rivers own is particularly
embarrassing. We all know the circumstances
surrounding the Rivers State tribunal. You recall
now that for unjustifiable course, that tribunal
was not allowed to sit in Port Harcourt, it was
taken to Abuja – and, somewhere along the line,
the chairman of the Tribunal got changed which paved way for curiosity.
"Now we challenge the jurisdiction of the Tribunal
and it has gotten to the Supreme Court. The
Supreme Court will give judgement in the next
few days. The Abuja Tribunal continues to sit. On
Thursday, nine written addresses were adopted,"
He concluded.